On December 1, 1825, in the outback of the Russian Empire - the city of Taganrog - unexpectedly for all, autocrat All-Russian Alexander I. He reigned since 1801, inheriting the throne from Paul I killed by the conspirators. Everything would be fine, but persistent rumors circulated in the world that in fact the emperor secretly abdicated. Later, the titled person was associated with the old man Fedor Kuzmich, exiled to Siberian Tomsk for vagrancy. To this day, the mystery of the life and death of Alexander I excites historians.
On the last journey
In the fall of 1825, the 47-year-old Emperor Alexander I visited the provincial city of Taganrog with checks. Here he caught a cold and “burned with a fever” in the house of the mayor P.A. Papkova, as doctors later reported. The coffin was sent to St. Petersburg. It was closed and they did not open it at the funeral.
It is curious that Elizabeth Alekseevna, wife of Alexander I, contrary to customs, did not accompany her late husband to the capital. She referred to ailments and for some time remained in Taganrog. By a strange coincidence, a year later she also left this world.
However, all these events were accompanied by a mass of medical, logical and historical inconsistencies. As a result, rumors began to circulate among the people that Alexander I secretly left for Kiev to atone for his sins, and Elizaveta Alekseevna became a recluse in the Syrkov Monastery near Veliky Novgorod.
Mysterious Elder
In 1836, a lone old man drew the attention of the gendarmes of the Perm province. He answered evasively evasively, which caused dissatisfaction with the authorities. It was known that he was 60 years old and his name was Fedor Kuzmich. The man was tried for vagrancy, sentenced to 20 punches with a whip and sent to re-education in Siberia.
However, the old man was not so simple. He perfectly knew French, had some kind of correspondence with noble people, was meek and obedient. He quickly gained the trust of both convicts and escorts, and taught children to read and write. Several people who arrived from the capital said that he looked very much like the late emperor Alexander I. Even during the life of Fyodor Kuzmich, many considered him to be “the same” autocrat and treated him with respect. He himself did not refute this theory. It is curious that after death, many noble people came to Tomsk. And in 1984, the old man Fedor was counted among the saints.
Mystery of death
Of course, it was officially stated that Alexander I died of a fever. However, contemporaries noted many conflicting facts. To begin with, the emperor was ill with fever three times and each time on his feet, that is, in a fairly mild form. Therefore, it is strange that something went wrong in Taganrog.
In addition, the autopsy report signed by 9 doctors and Adjutant General Chernyshev, who led the process, is full of inaccuracies and medical errors. Although the cause of death says "fever with inflammation of the brain," the symptoms are more like typhoid, which doctors could hardly confuse with fever.
Life Doctor Tarasov
It is curious that the key figure at the autopsy was Dr. Tarasov Dmitry Klementievich. According to the doctor, he drew up the autopsy report (although it was proved that it was Willie's life doctor), but did not put his signature (although she is standing there!). Moreover, Tarasov refused to personally embalm the body.
When there were rumors that Elder Fedor, who looked like an emperor, had appeared in Tomsk, the doctor took them very seriously. In conversations on this subject, he reacted sharply, overly persistently convincing his interlocutors that this was nonsense. But at the same time, until 1864, Dmitry Klementyevich did not serve a memorial service for Alexander I. But he began to do it in secret after the death of Kuzmich.And the final touch: Tarasov was very rich for his profession. One gets the impression that he was paid good money for some secret services.
Conspiracy theory
Thanks to the surviving archives, historians with high confidence suggest that Prince Alexander at least knew, or perhaps participated in a conspiracy against his father, Emperor Paul I. Later, he was very worried about this. It is possible he could not stand the remorse and secretly organized his abdication. However, rumors about it went the very next day, which indicates a fairly wide circle of initiates.
But if we assume that Alexander really decided to go away with sins, who were the doctors dissecting and who were they burying? The answer was found quickly enough. A few days before the apparent or imaginary death of the emperor, a certain courier Maskov died from a severe cold. He was very similar to Alexander.
And here strange things begin. Maskov’s funeral took place the very next day, contrary to Christian tradition. Several random people were present, the coffin was closed. And for some unknown reason the relatives of the courier were granted full maintenance, plus they repaid their debts more than once. It is suggested that Maskov’s body was decided to be used to stage the death of the emperor.
What is your evidence
But they are not. In our enlightened age on DNA analysis, you can tell exactly who is who. However, the Russian authorities do not give permission for this. They did not give in the days of the USSR. The famous anthropologist Mikhail Gerasimov several times turned to the Leningrad Regional Committee, but invariably was refused. Meanwhile, the respected graphologist Svetlana Semenova in 2015 conducted research and confirmed the similarity of the handwritings of Elder Fedor and Emperor Alexander I.